Smarty Pants

Our Halloween special covers two subjects perfect for your next macabre dinner party: how the witch gained her powers, and the myriad alternatives to a casket. Caitlin Doughty, the Internet’s favorite mortician, tells us about her world travels in search of the holy grail of corpse interaction—along with a few other stories that illuminate our changing relationship with the afterlife. And Ronald Hutton, medieval historian and witch expert, goes into the history of fear surrounding one of the oldest scapegoats in the world. • Episode page: https://theamericanscholar.org/witches-never-die/ • Go beyond the episode: Caitlin Doughty’s From Here to Eternity • Ronald Hutton’s The Witch • Ask a Mortician all about coffin birth, ghost marriage, and the iconic corpses of the world on Caitlin’s YouTube channel • Read more about the Order of the Good Death, an organization of funeral professionals working to change attitudes about death • Virtually visit the high-tech Ruriden Columbarium in Tokyo, Japan with head monk Yajima Taijun • For the flip side of witchcraft, watch Ronald Hutton’s dramatic documentary about the good ones—A Very British Witchcraft, about the founder of modern Wicca • And for some spooky Halloween viewing, watch The Witch, our host’s favorite movie about witches—featured on Vulture’s list of top 15 witch movies, if you’re dying for more • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • Acast • Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! • Music featured from Master Toad (“Dreadful Mansion”), Dead End Canada (“Witch Hunt”), and 8bit Betty (“Spooky Loop”), courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Family drama, circa 1930: Yuri Slezkine tells the saga of the House of Government, a communal residence where top Soviet officials and their families lived, loved, died, and disappeared in the years after the Russian Revolution; Caroline Moorehead introduces American audiences to the story of the Rossellis, the family at the forefront of the fight against Mussolini’s fascism. • Episode Page: https://theamericanscholar.org/back-in-the-ussr/ • Go beyond the episode: • Yuri Slezkine’s House of Government • Watch Neighbors of the Kremlin, a documentary about the House on the Embankment • Caroline Moorehead’s A Bold and Dangerous Family • Read poetry by Carlo Rosselli’s daughter, Amelia (named after his mother), whose work has only recently been translated • Explore the Fondazione Rosselli archives online • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • Acast • Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at how we have irrevocably shaped the planet through consumption: of fossil fuels, exotic foods, cups of tea. Erika Rappaport talks about how the drive for empire was spurred on by lust for a certain caffeinated plant, which fueled countless wars and colonial expansion. And Alexandra Kleeman and Jen Monroe throw a dinner party for the future, imagining what food will taste like in 30 years’ time. • Episode page: https://theamericanscholar.org/once-and-future-food/ • Go beyond the episode: • Erika Rappaport’s A Thirst for Empire: How Tea Shaped the Modern World • Bon Appétit explains how to brew the perfect cup of tea • Check out Bad Taste, Jen Monroe’s experimental food project • Read “Choking Victim,” a short story by Alexandra Kleeman • Explore the unusual artistic encounters of The Bellwether, which put on The Next Menu, and Jordan Kisner’s essay on the massive aspen grove threatened by climate change • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What power do words have, and how do their meanings change across centuries—and continents? We talk to Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, about how moving from Britain to Baltimore changed his work; Jennifer Choi unearths the cruel etymology behind an innocuous blue birthmark; and Max Décharné draws a map of the vulgar tongue. • Episode page: https://theamericanscholar.org/rhapsodies-in-blue/ • Go beyond the episode: • “My Mongolian Spot,” Jennifer Choi’s essay on having a blue behind • Four poems by Andrew Motion, including “Surveillance,” which he read on the podcast • Listen to more poets read their work on the Poetry Archive, founded by Andrew Motion during his time as Poet Laureate • Max Décharné’s Vulgar Tongues: An Alternative History of the English Language • Our back to school required reading list • Don’t forget to send us an email at podcast@theamericanscholar.org if you want us to mail you swag! • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • Acast • Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week is for the ladies: we'll be talking about women's roles in two pretty different fields—science and religion—and how women have worked their way in from the fringes of both. Angela Saini unravels the pervasive idea that science is free from bias, and talks about how prejudice against women comes out in studies as well as in the academy; Adrian Shirk spotlights the American women who have shaped modern religion, both inside and outside the lines. • Episode Page: https://theamericanscholar.org/scientists-and-saints/ • Go beyond the episode: • Angela Saini’s Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong—and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story • “Women Are Dying Because Doctors Treat Us Like Men” by Kayla Webley Adler in Marie Claire • Read an excerpt from Cathy O’Neil’s Weapons of Math Destruction about the biases built into Big Data • Adrian Shirk’s And Your Daughters Shall Prophecy: Stories from the Byways of American Women and Religion • Watch the trailer for American Mystic, Alex Mar’s documentary featuring a modern-day Spiritualist medium • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • Acast • Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hit the seven seas and the five gyres in our wettest podcast episode yet: Laura Sook Duncombe talks about the female swashbucklers forgotten by history—including a pirate who gave birth in the middle of a sea battle—and Marcus Eriksen talks about sailing the ocean blue in a raft made of plastic bottles. • Go beyond the episode: • Laura Sook Duncombe’s Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas • Read more about Cheng I Sao, the world’s most successful pirate, or catch Anne Bonny and Mary Read on the television show Black Sails • Listen to our podcast segment on the history of eclipse in preparation for the upcoming total solar eclipse—including why the ancient Babylonians always marked the occasion with a king-swapping ritual and human sacrifice • Learn more about Marcus Eriksen’s journey on the Junk Raft • Read more about how much plastic we produce and where it goes, how 100 companies are responsible for 71% of greenhouse gas emissions • And dry off with our list of the most arid reads around: 10 Books to Read—And Not a Drop to Drink • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. •Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Melanie Kiechle introduces us to the 19th-century world of smell detectives, where the nose reigned supreme and cities mapped their stench patterns;  Sam Kean tells how gases can have a profound effect on us—from knocking us out to making us laugh, and even causing the French Revolution. Plus, top off our exploration into the sensory world of invisible forces with an excerpt from a new book on all the light we cannot see.Go beyond the episode:Melanie Kiechle’s Smell Detectives: An Olfactory History of Nineteenth-Century Urban AmericaSam Kean’s Caesar’s Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around UsCheck out a modern-day smell map of the City of Light (and Odor), from graphic designer Kate McCleanLive in Pittsburgh? Download Smell PGH, the app that tracks pollution odors (read more here)Read more about the volcanic eruption that led to the French RevolutionFlip through the scanned pages of Humprhy Davy’s book on his laughing gas experiments, which could use a funnier title: Researches, chemical and philosophical chiefly concerning nitrous oxide, or diphlogisticated nitrous air, and its respirationTune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psychologist Alexander Todorov tells us how we’ve got it all wrong on the science of first impressions—and warns of physiognomy’s dangerous return—while Elizabeth Wilson gives us a glimpse into the secret, sexy history of tennis, just in time for the Wimbledon finals.Go beyond the episode:Alexander Todorov’s Face Value: The Irresistible Influence of First Impressions Explore the Social Perception Lab at Princeton, where you can watch videos of how our visual stereotypes map onto facesWatch how bias shapes photographic portraits in this experiment from Canon AustraliaElizabeth Wilson’s Love Game: A History of Tennis from Victorian Pastime to Global PhenomenonAnd, of course: live updates from WimbledonTune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet the experimental archaeologist and the master brewer who are resurrecting beverages of the past. Dr. Patrick McGovern, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and Sam Calagione, the founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, discuss what it takes to turn millennia-old booze samples at the bottom of a jug into mead fit for a king; our editors give us a sneak peek at their favorite fictional food scenes; and we honor Brian Doyle, who died last month.Go beyond the episode:Read “Joyas Voladoras,” Brian Doyle’s ode to the capacity of the heartExplore Dr. Pat’s work on the intoxicating science of alcoholWatch Patrick McGovern and Sam Calagione work on a recipe for a new ancient aleAdd your favorite food scene to our list of top fictional feastsTune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

True tales of horse historians, mad bombers, and infinite jam jarsSusanna Forrest takes us down the bridle path of our long relationship with horses; Michael Cannell tells the story of New York’s mad bomber and the invention of criminal profiling; and Eugenia Cheng shares her infinite enthusiasm for the link between mathematics and art.Go beyond the episode:• Susanna Forrest’s The Age of the Horse, and her blog about horse history and news• Michael Cannell’s Incendiary• Track the mad bomber through New York City on this map• Eugenia Cheng’s Beyond Infinity, and her attempt to teach Stephen Colbert how to make puff pastry• Natalie Angier’s review of How to Bake Pi (delicious!)Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.